The Gauntlet -

Jason Fisher • July 06, 2009 • Permalink

Nobeard: Ahoy, this is Admiral Nobeard.

The Gauntlet: How’s it going? Are you getting ready for Wacken?

Nobeard: Fuck yeah we are. We have been practicing our asses off. We can’t even believe we are on it.

The Gauntlet: You guys have a prime time slot on a big stage too.

Nobeard: I have no idea how we got it. Someone told us they had a spot for us on Wacken and we got huge boners and said we’d take whatever they had. It turned out to be a pretty bitchin’ spot. It turns out new record comes out 6 days before so we are going to turn it into our record release party.

The Gauntlet: Where was the album recorded?

Nobeard: It was recorded in Union, New Jersey at a place called Sound Studios by our buddy Lynn Carmichael. He is an excellent producer and engineer. I have worked on him with other albums before.

The Gauntlet: What makes a band ‘pirate metal?’

Nobeard: My guess would be pirates…playing metal.

The Gauntlet: So if you were dressed as pirates and began singing about slaying dragon’s, you’d still be pirate metal?

Nobeard: Yeah, basically. We sing songs about life on the high seas, stealing shit, banging wenches, and drinking rum. It is kinda like Vikings but a different time period.

The Gauntlet: What makes you the admiral?

Nobeard: I have killed enough people so I am higher on the food chain. We are three idiots on a pirate ship.

The Gauntlet: Do you rub your rank into the faces of the others?

Nobeard: We don’t rub anything into people’s faces on a boat. That is how you get scurvy: lack of vitamin C and homosexual tendencies. You never know. What do doctors know these days?

The Gauntlet: You also have Paganfest Euro coming up.

Nobeard: It should be starting September 11. I get to see Unleashed every day. That fucking rules.

The Gauntlet: There will be two pirate metal bands and a Roman metal band. Can we expect trouble?

Nobeard: Probably no swordfights, just us trading off bottles of rum. Most of the time we will just be assholes and jump on each other’s sets. That’s what pirates do, we are assholes. I’ll run up, kick the guy in the nuts and play on his keytar.

The Gauntlet: Are you a fan of the 80’s pirate metal band Running Wild?

Nobeard: One of the awesome things about Wacken is we get to see Running Wild play their last show ever. I have been listening to them since I was a kid. It is a bummer that they are calling it quits but we still get to see them play one last time. We see them play the first day, then we play the next.

The Gauntlet: I think I can count the pirate metal bands I know on 1 hand.

Nobeard: There are just a few I have heard of. Alestorm, Running Wild and this one pirate hardcore band called Scurvy. You don’t see many bands doing King Diamond. Many bands tried to play like Venom but they played different styles. We are not out there trying to copy Running Wild or Alestorm.

The Gauntlet: Do you think a lot of people might dismiss Swashbuckle as being a gimmick band?

Nobeard: A lot of people dismiss us because of the image. We aren’t worried about it. We wanna play old school fucking thrash that we grew up on. We are a gimmick band true and true. If you write about one thing and one thing only, that is your gimmick. Look at black metal. How many times can you write about Satan and it not be your gimmick? Running Wild: gimmick, but they wrote killer fucking songs. Look at GWAR. They are fucking cool. They are a gimmick. GWAR is entertainment that has killer fucking songs. They also have a stage show that backs it up. Look at Alice Cooper. With the economy in the shitter the way it is, why would you want to listen to some depressing ass shit. Come be down and have fun with us. If you like it cool, if not, eat a dick.

The Gauntlet: That’s cool…not the eating of the dick.

Nobeard: Eating a dick is gay. We aren’t just thrash though we mix it up. We aren’t out there to reinvent the wheel.

The Gauntlet: I haven’t had a chance to see the Swashbuckle live show yet, are there a lot of antics to get fans into the pirate mood?

Nobeard: Yeah, we have our inflatable props and we throw shit into the circle pit. We are goofy and try to keep it as fun as possible. You are always going to have the guys that think this is stupid but if we can put a smile on your face for 5 minutes and you can headbang to it, then it is all good with me.

The Gauntlet: Inflatable props? Like inflatable wenches?

Nobeard: No, not yet. We have sharks, palm trees and ships. Stuff the crowd will beat each other with. We also have swords for them to beat each other with.

The Gauntlet: Sounds dangerous.

Nobeard: No, if anyone gets hurt, blame it on the pirates.

The Gauntlet: That’s a typical music industry response.

Nobeard: [laughs]

The Gauntlet: With you guys heading over to Germany for this year’s Wacken, will you give up the rum for beer? Germany isn’t known for its rum production.

Nobeard: We drink a lot of beer. We pretty much drink whatever is available. You got beer, rum, Jack Daniel’s…it doesn’t matter. We will consume it.

The Gauntlet: Anyone in the band mix fruit juices in with their drinks to girly them up?

Nobeard: I don’t think any of us do.

The Gauntlet: There is always one wuss in every band.

Nobeard: That would be our drummer.

The Gauntlet: Is he the one that you can catch scurvy from?

Nobeard: He gives scurvy to everyone. He is an epidemic. He’s not that bad, not yet.

The Gauntlet: Any final words?

Nobeard: Come see us at Wacken. Come see us when we come to your town. Buy our album or we will steal your shit and fuck your women. Yarrr!